Chicago firefighters spent most of the night battling an extra-alarm blaze in the Englewood neighborhood that started in the basement of a commercial building and burst through the roof of the third floor.

No injuries were reported in the fire, which was called in around 10:30 p.m. and was escalated to a 3-11 alarm before midnight. The fire wasn't brought under control until 3 a.m.

The first firefighters to arrive at the yellow brick building, at the corner of 63rd and Halsted streets, spotted flames poking through a window facing a tiny alley to the west.

CaptionBlaze at 63rd and Halsted

Peter Nickeas / Chicago Tribune

The Chicago Fire Department fights a blaze in a three-story brick building at 63rd and Halsted Streets, Wednesday night into Thursday morning.

Each escalation of alarms -- from a still-and-box to a 2-11 to a 3-11 - brought more firefighters and equipment. Around midpoint, a small concussion boomed from the inside of the building, shaking the ground slightly.

Water came crashing out the east wall, bringing with it a river of debris, apparently after a hole in an upper floor opened up. Crews worked to protect a bank to the west, setting up in an alley barely wide enough for a car to keep the fire back.

Among the specialty equipment called to the scene was a snorkel truck that looked like a cherry picker atop a fire engine and a "deluge" unit to shoot large amounts of water through a single stream.

The extra-alarms were struck out just after 3 a.m. but Chicago Fire Department crews were still at the scene as of about 5 a.m.

The building houses a mattress store and a few clothing stores on the first floor, with apartments above. Two buildings on the east corners of the intersection are new and belong to Kennedy King College. The lot on the northwest corner is vacant and surrounded by a fence.